International Law Commons^™

Same As It Ever Was : The Tijuana River Sewage Crisis, Non-State Actors, And The State, James M. Cooper

Faculty Scholarship

Sewage—a scary mixture of human waste and industrial toxins—flows into the Tijuana River Valley, an environmentally sensitive watershed that straddles the United Mexican States ("Mexico") and the United States of America. Treatment plants, a deteriorating one in Punta Bandera with limited capacity south of the border, and another in San Diego County completed in 1997, are inadequate to process the volume of sewage. So much sewage made its way into the Tijuana River that CBS 60 Minutes broadcast a special report on the binational environmental disaster in 2020.

Border factories and a population spike contribute to the sewage. Maquiladoras, …

Bizarre Love Triangle: The Trilateral Responses To Tame The United States-Mexico Border, James M. Cooper

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the role that multilateral agreements among Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and bilateral agreements between the United States and Mexico, have played along the border. Part I of this article explores the Washington Consensus and the culture of accumulation, plunder, and extractivism that it has engendered. Part II delves into various economic integration pacts that are part of the Washington Consensus starting with the NAFTA, then the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), and finally, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It concludes that neither agreement make the border safer, nor make its working people more prosperous.

Guide On Multisectional Responses For The Protection Of Migrants, Refugees, And Internally Displaced Persons During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon, Claudia Martin

Research Reports & White Papers

The Guide on Multisectoral Responses for the Protection of Migrants, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons during and after the COVID19 pandemic is an initiative of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity of the Organization of American States (OAS) that offers a situational analysis and promotes a dialogue on proposals to address the particular needs of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in the face of the emergency generated by COVID-19. It also seeks to define proposals with a post-pandemic perspective that provide multisectoral responses to address the needs of vulnerable populations.

This …

Monitoring Sanctions Compliance At Sea, Richard L. Kilpatrick Jr.

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Prologue, Claudio Grossman, Robert K. Goldman

American University International Law Review

We are pleased to write this prologue for the special issue of the American University International Law Review featuring the winning papers from the 2021 Human Rights Essay Award, sponsored by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of American University Washington College of Law.

Derogations To Human Rights During A Global Pandemic: Unpacking Normative And Practical Challenges, Roman Girma Teshome

American University International Law Review

After the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a “global pandemic,” States responded by taking more restrictive and urgent measures. These measures ranged from restrictions on public events to partial or total lockdowns, which restrict a plethora of human rights. Additionally, an unprecedented number of States declared a state of emergency to justify these measures; as of this writing, roughly two-thirds of States declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”).

Would Hitler Define Jews Living In His Germany As Citizens? An Amendment To The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Could Solve This Legal Puzzle For United States Courts, Tonya Bordeaux Larson

California Western International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Taxing Nomads: Reviving Citizenship-Based Taxation For The 21st Century, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Law & Economics Working Papers

The COVID pandemic and the rise of zooming has increased the ability of many people (primarily the rich) to work remotely. This in turn has led to more people moving to other countries to benefit from the ability to work remotely while enjoying other benefits such as lower housing prices, a more leisurely lifestyle, and in some cases greater political stability. Many Americans have used their newfound freedom to move overseas, e.g., to Italy. They and others like them are the new nomads.

Such a move is not tax motivated because Italy has higher personal tax rates than the US. …

The African Continental Free Trade Area: Local Content Requirements As A Means To Addressing Africa's Productive Capacity Constraints, Nchimunya D. Ndulo

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents an unprecedented opportunity for African integration and is projected to spur unprecedented levels of job growth and productivity, and to drive sustainable economic development. However, as the implementation of the AfCFTA unfolds, it is apparent that certain bottlenecks stand in the way of the AfCFTA achieving its full potential. The bottleneck at the core of the AfCFTA’s effective implementation is the limited availability of tradable goods due to the limited productive capacity of many State Parties. This article argues that the implementation of local content requirements by State Parties, …

Data Privacy, Human Rights, And Algorithmic Opacity, Sylvia Lu

Fellow, Adjunct, Lecturer, and Research Scholar Works

Decades ago, it was difficult to imagine a reality in which artificial intelligence (AI) could penetrate every corner of our lives to monitor our innermost selves for commercial interests. Within just a few decades, the private sector has seen a wild proliferation of AI systems, many of which are more powerful and penetrating than anticipated. In many cases, AI systems have become “the power behind the throne,” tracking user activities and making fateful decisions through predictive analysis of personal information. Despite the growing power of AI, proprietary algorithmic systems can be technically complex, legally claimed as trade secrets, and managerially …

Caliphs, Jinns, And Sufi Shrines: The Protection Of Cultural Heritage And Cultural Rights Under Islamic Law, Eleni Polymenopoulou

Emory International Law Review

This Article examines the position of the Islamic legal tradition on arts and cultural heritage, including its pitfalls, and argues that a better understanding of Muslim state practice is needed to enhance the protection of cultural rights in the Muslim world. This can further facilitate collaboration between Muslim states and inter-governmental bodies working in the field of culture; implement better accountability mechanisms under international criminal law, as well as; to contribute to the fight against terrorism. In addition, the author submits that Islamic law is not necessarily an appropriate platform to enhance cultural rights and cultural heritage in the Muslim …

Selected Works, Abdullahi An-Naim

Emory International Law Review

No abstract provided.

“‘Made In China’ . . . Is A Warning Label”: Is America Doing Enough?, Devin Kathleen Epp

Seattle University Law Review

This Note explores China’s repressive actions against the Uyghur population and calls upon the U.S. to address these human rights violations. Part I discusses the background and human rights violations in Xinjiang, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Part II addresses U.S. economic regulations and sanctions imposed against actors involved in Xinjiang’s forced labor industry. Part III analyzes previous U.S. strategies and sanction regimes implemented to combat human rights violations in other countries. This Note recommends that the U.S. implement a more robust multilateral framework to combat the Xinjiang cultural genocide and impose secondary sanctions against China …

The United States Is Enabling An Outer Space Arms Race: An Overview Of The Current Framework And Recommendations For Abating An Outer Space Arms Race, Valerie Shmigol

Seattle University Law Review

This Note explores the possibility of future armed outer space conflict as global powers create and test counterspace weapons. Part I of this Note overviews current space security threats, focusing on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea’s capabilities. Part II provides a primer on international agreements governing outer space. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty serves as the legal framework for outer space activities; however, it is woefully inadequate in addressing escalating tensions. Finally, Part III provides recommendations and advocates for the United States to revise its position, which seeks voluntary “transparency and confidence building measures.”

Power, Exit Costs, And Renegotiation In International Law, Timothy Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

Scholars have long understood that the instability of power has ramifications for compliance with international law. Scholars have not, however, focused on how states’ expectations about shifting power affect the initial design of international agreements. In this paper, I integrate shifting power into an analysis of the initial design of both the formal and substantive aspects of agreements. I argue that a state expecting to become more powerful over time incurs an opportunity cost by agreeing to formal provisions that raise the cost of exiting an agreement. Exit costs - which promote the stability of legal rules - have distributional …

Governing The Purpose Of Investment Management: How The 'Stewardship' Norm Is Being (Re)Developed In The Uk And Eu, Iris H-Y Chiu

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Compulsory Licensing Of Trade Secrets: Illegality Under International And Domestic Laws, Eric M. Solovy, Deepak Raju

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Assessing Legal Protection Of Biometric Data In China: Gaps, Principles, And Policy Recommendations, Qian Li, Jianyu Zhou, Jennifer S. Stevenson

Faculty Articles

The legal protection of biometric data is becoming an increasingly important issue in the information society. China attaches importance to the legal protection of biometric data. Over the past decades, the rapid development of digital technology has profoundly influenced Chinese information society. However, digital technology may also trigger substantial risks. In this article, we provide an in-depth examination of existing Chinese laws protecting biometric data. We explore general laws and facial recognition laws, administrative regulations, sector-based rules, judicial interpretations, regulatory documents, policy documents, and (draft) national standards. We find gaps in laws in China. Building on this analysis, we elaborate …

Reparations, Or Hush Money?, Christina Glekas

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

No abstract provided.